The invention is an improvement in methods of recycling. Recycling is, of course, an activity rather than a composition per se. Thus, almost any item or material is “recyclable” in some fashion. That said, the most commonly recycled materials include old corrugated containers (OCC), paper, plastic, and non-ferrous metals (e.g., aluminum). The invention relates to any (or all) of these materials.
As an exemplary material, and at recent prices, “used” cardboard is worth approximately US$100-150 per ton. This makes its collection and recycling economically viable. According to some statistics, about 30 million tons of OCC were recovered in the US in 2011; i.e., worth about US$3-4 Billion. Similar statistics exist for other recyclable materials.
OCC is of interest because commercially, a large percentage (70-90%) of goods is shipped in some form of corrugated containers. Because of that, discarded boxes at retail establishments (e.g., grocery stores and volume retailers) represent a significant amount of OCC. Typically, the discarded boxes are temporarily compacted and baled at the retailer and then hauled away by a commercial waste company to a recycling center. At the recycling center, the cardboard is pressed and wrapped (i.e., rebaled) into bales that are sized for particular requirements such as transport in containers (i.e. container ships, container trailers) or for the input stream of a paper recycling mill.
Generally, the retailer does not have the capability for such a finalized baling, but instead uses a simpler, but less precise, baler. Because of that, the retailer is at the mercy of the hauler or recycling company in terms of calculating the amount (weight) of the collected cardboard material and the price that the OCC should command. Indeed, in many cases the hauler simply reports an unverified weight to the retailer, a weight that the retailer has no means of confirming. Given that grocery store chains and other retailers can generate huge amounts of discarded cardboard—even within local geographic areas—the total weight can reach thousands of tons per year, that in turn represent millions of dollars. Accordingly, a retailer's (or a retail chain's) loss of even a small percentage of the value of the collected discarded cardboard represents a relatively large economic disadvantage.
Stated positively, a sufficient economic incentive already exists and thus, the reward for recycling OCC (or any other relevant material) is potentially significant.
As another factor, because OCC material must be hauled from retailers to recycling centers, transportation costs and regulations (e.g., weight limits for commercial vehicles) also become an economic factor. An under loaded (or inefficiently loaded) truck wastes fuel resources while overloaded ones create regulatory and legal problems. As a result, the lack of precise information about OCC bales costs the retailer significant amounts, wastes transportation resources (thus effectively increasing transportation costs) and potentially violates state and federal laws.
In particular, a significant amount of OCC (or other baled recyclable material) is, at some point, hauled in steel intermodal containers (also referred to as “shipping containers,” “sea containers,” and “ISO containers”). A variety of such containers exist, and a common size is 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8½ feet high. The maximum load for this size container is typically about 30,000 kg (about 66000 pounds; about 33 tons). As those in the shipping business are aware, however, the exact sizes and weight capacities (or allowances) can differ from container to container and in some cases from shipper to shipper.
Regardless of exact sizes, using containers in the most efficient fashion requires filling up the volume and carrying the maximum weight. Stated differently, a shipped container that is less than full (either by volume or by weight) represents an inefficient use of resources and a resulting excess cost.
Currently, compacted OCC bales that (i) have dimensions of about 58×30×45″ and (ii) weigh about 1250 pounds, will fill a standard container most efficiently. In current practice, however, the retailer does not produce such bales and instead relies on the hauler or recycler to produce the desired bales for further shipment or use.
As a result, bales of consistent size and weight can have more value than bales of random size and weight, particularly when the bales are intended for container shipping or export or both. The retailer loses this value (or a fraction thereof) when the retailer produces an informal bale.
In a corresponding manner, informal bales will not fill a shipping container by volume, or by weight. Because of that, a container that is shipped at less than full capacity reduces efficiency and increases cost by a factor related to the percentage of unused space or weight.